December Wishes
by Sk8er Chica
Summary: It's Christmas time in Ocean Shores. Better than it sounds. R&R.
1. Free At Last

DISCLAIMER: I own nothing in this fic (with the exception of Val)  
A/N: Hi, everybody! This is a cross between a Christmas fic and a sequel to "Struck by Lightning." Don't worry if you haven't read "Struck by Lightning;" I'll pretty much explain everything. I hope y'all enjoy it. (Don't forget to review).

It was mid-December in Ocean Shores, California. There was just enough chill in the air to make Otto regret wearing shorts, but not enough of a chill to make him go inside to change. He waved to his best friend, Twister, who was wearing a red turtleneck sweater and pants with heavily patched knees. He usually wore that outfit on trips to Mount Baldy. He glanced at Otto, who had his hands on his hips and was tapping his foot impatiently.

"I've never seen you in such a rush to go to school," Twister remarked.

"Let's just go, Twist," Otto said shortly. "I don't wanna stay after school and waste two whole hours of my vacation."

Twister was hurt that Otto was treating him like this, so he remained silent on the walk to school. During the trip, his mind wandered to Otto's cousin, Valencia Lightning, whom he'd met over the summer. She was beautiful and could shred with the best of them (especially on the waves). She didn't tease him when his voice cracked or sounded like his mother's. Twister hadn't seen her in months because Valencia lived in L.A. He wondered if she'd becoming to Ocean Shores for the holidays...

"Earth to Twister!" Twister was brought to his senses by Sam Dullard's voice.

"Huh?"

"I _think_ I was offering you one of my mom's cookies," said the stocky blond boy, holding out the Tupperware box.

Twister had been so lost he'd barely noticed walking into Conroy's classroom or the noise of the class holiday party. Slowly, he grabbed a handful of Mrs. Dullard's cookies. Sam moved away to offer the container to someone else. As he bit the head off a sugar-coated reindeer, Twister wondered why Otto was in such an awful mood. School was going to be over for two weeks, after all; he should be happy. Hopefully, he would find out soon.


	2. An Unwelcome Sight

When Otto got home, his father, Ray, was standing on the front lawn. It looked like he'd been waiting there for a while.

"Where were you all morning?" Ray demanded of his son.

"I was at school, Raymundo," Otto replied.

"What were you doing at school? I need you to help me set up our traditional Christmas light display."

Otto groaned inwardly. Setting up the lights always took hours. Ray handed Otto several tangled strings of lights. His job was to untangle the lights and check each tiny bulb. If one bulb was burnt out, the entire strand wouldn't work.  
Once all the strands of lights were untangled and inspected, Ray took over. Otto's teeth chattered as he watched Ray wind the colored lights around the deck railing. Then the white icicle lights were put on the gutters.

"Otto, can you go get the reindeer and the Santa Claus?" Ray called from the ladder.

"Sure thing." Any excuse to be in the warmth of the house was fine by him. Then he remembered Ray kept that stuff in the basement, which was drafty, even in warmer weather.

Otto had to make several trips to and from the basement and yard. There were six reindeer (which had to be carried two at a time), plus Santa and his sleigh. After lining up the reindeer and seating Santa in the sleigh, Otto started to go back into the house.

"Didn't you used to have a snowman too?" questioned a female voice.

Otto turned to see who had spoken. Standing on the sidewalk was a short, skinny girl. Thick, curly, honey-colored hair fell just past her jaw line. It was slicked back, turned under over her ears. Her skin was permanently tanned, probably due to the fact she was exactly fifty percent Native American.  
Val had cat-shaped blue eyes and a slightly upturned nose. Presently, her hands were stuffed in the pocket of a navy blue hooded sweatshirt; the phrase **Wossamotta U **was printed in gold across the front.  
The girl was unmistakably his cousin, Valencia Lightning. (Otto had discovered at a young age, however, that calling her Valencia was a bad idea. He'd begun calling her "Val" after she'd taken a few swipes at him).

Val cocked an eyebrow. "Not still holding a grudge, are you?" she asked a little too coolly.

She was already in unfavorable standing with Otto, but now she was on thin ice. That summer, she'd beaten Otto in the Ocean Shores Junior Classic surf competition, a loss his ego was still smarting over.

"You're charming today," Val said sarcastically.

She picked up her luggage: a red backpack and sky-blue camo print duffel bag and walked into the house. She had to come back out for her surfboard, two skateboards (a regular size for street and a longboard for downhill), a pair of blades, and a hockey stick. Judging by the amount of stuff she'd brought, this wasn't going to be a short visit.


	3. A Late Night Talk

Later that evening, the doorbell rang.

"I'll get it!" screamed Val.

She threw open the front door, coming face-to-face with Sam and Twister. Both were carrying backpacks and sleeping bags. She guessed Otto had probably invited them to spend the night. Reggie was at her friend Trish's house. She had called from there a few minutes ago, asking Val to come over. She'd politely declined, saying she'd rather get settled into her new surroundings.

"Why didn't you tell me you were coming?" Twister asked, his voice cracking badly in midsentence.

Val giggled. "Aw. You still haven't grown into your voice?"

Twister sighed heavily. "No, and Lars never lets me forget it."

"Well, I think it's cute."

Otto made a gagging face behind Val's back, then attempted to drag his lovesick friend upstairs so they could escape from her.

Val suddenly snapped her fingers, exclaiming, "I've got a great idea!"

Otto poked his head into the kitchen to see what she was up to. Val was humming Christmas songs as she began to prepare some microwave popcorn. He knew Twister and Sam would want to remain downstairs once they smelled the popcorn and grudgingly admitted defeat.  
A short time later, Val and the boys had gathered in the living room. Sitting on the floor was a stack of Christmas movies Val had brought: _Home Alone, Home Alone 2: Lost in New York, Christmas Vacation_, and a few others. To give the room a movie theater feel, Sam turned off the lights.  
By the time _Christmas Vacation _ended, Otto and Sam were asleep, giving Val a chance to talk privately with Twister.

"I've really missed you," said Twister.

"I've missed you too," she replied.

She crawled over to the VCR and slipped in a copy of _The Chipmunks' Christmas Carol,_ which Twister thought was an odd choice for her. Val said she'd always liked the Chipmunks, especially Theodore.

"Maybe we could spend tomorrow together," she suggested. "You know, just the two of us."

Twister hesitated. He knew Otto would completely lose his temper if he found out. Val must've guessed what was on his mind because she added, "We'll just get up really early and come back before he has a chance to miss us. What could go wrong?"

Twister could think of several things that might go wrong. For instance, if they made too much noise while leaving, they would get caught. But he didn't want to hurt Val's feelings, so he agreed.


	4. The Date, pt 1

Val blearily opened one eye to squint at the digital clock on the VCR. 8:32 AM. She glanced toward the couch. The upper half of Otto's body was hanging downward. It was a miracle he hadn't fallen on his face. She quietly slipped into the downstairs bathroom to change her clothes. She emerged in a fresh pair of jeans, black sneakers, and a T-shirt. Her backpack was slung over her shoulder, a black skateboard helmet dangling from it. She decided to brush her teeth before going out.

The light in the upstairs bathroom was on, but the door was ajar, so she walked in. Otto was standing in front of the mirror, brushing his teeth. Wordlessly, Val collected her toothbrush from the two-way medicine cabinet. A second later, Otto felt a not-at-all-gentle poke between his ribs.

"Move over; I gotta spit," said Val, whose mouth was full of toothpaste.

"So do I," Otto argued.

They leaned over at the same time, though Otto missed the sink. He grabbed a towel to mop up the floor while Val flicked a brush through her hair.

"Where are _you_ going?" Otto questioned a bit roughly.

"Just out and about," Val answered evasively. "Nowhere interesting."

Satisfied, she put down her brush and turned to go. "Bathroom's yours, runt."

Otto snarled quietly at her retreating back.

* * *

Downstairs,Val nearly collided with Twister as he exited the bathroom, where he'd been changing. 

"Aren't we having breakfast?" he asked Val as she walked toward the front door.

"I guess that might be a good idea," she said at length.

She entered the kitchen; she came out a second later, holding a pair of cereal bars. They walked out the front door into the cul-de-sac. The weather was much warmer than it had been the previous day. Maybe they could go surfing later...

"Wanna go to Madtown?" Twister asked as they walked along the pier.

"Sounds fine to me," said Val, tossing her cereal wrapper in a trash can.

They entered the park, waving as they passed Conroy. Val paused at the bench, exchanging her sneakers for roller blades. She and Twister walked over to the half-pipe. Val took off down the ramp first. She executed a sole grind, followed by a textbook invert. Twister was impressed. Most girls he knew didn't have the upper body strength to pull off that trick. Even Reggie couldn't do an invert. Val shot into the air again, this time for a 540. Another impressive manuver, though her landing was a bit sketchy.

"You warmed up, Lightning Girl?" Twister said half-jokingly.

"Almost," she called back.

Val performed a fly-fish well over head-high. Then into a mid-vert, another trick Twister had never seen a girl do successfully. She was clearly a very gifted skater.

"Race ya!" said Val, rolling off the half-pipe.

Twister jumped on his skateboard and followed her. They skated all over the bowl, dodging in and out of the path of a few locals and some shoobies, laughing the whole time.

* * *

"You sure gave me a workout," Twister panted as they left Madtown. 

"I'm really thirsty." said Val, brushing sweat off her forehead.

"Me too."

"Is there any place to get a frappuccino around here?"

Twister had no clue what a frappuccino was, so he shook his head. Val's face fell slightly. "But we could get a freezie-freeze at the gas station." Twister suggested.

The gas station was a few blocks away from the Pier/Rocket Beach. Twister headed directly for the freezie machine. He got a large cherry freezie for himself and a small lime one for Val, smirking a little to himself. Red and green: Christmas colors.

"You hungry?" Val asked, jerking her thumb in the direction of a small fast-food counter.

Twister ordered two soft pretzels and a large of order of nachos for them to split. Val tried to give him a five-dollar bill for her share, but Twister said, "This is my treat."

They took the nachos and pretzels outside and sat on the sidewalk to eat them.When they finished, Val jumped to her feet.

"Last one to the amusement park as a shoobie!" she called, breaking into a run.

Twister, though fast himself, could barely keep up with Val, probably because she had longer legs than he did.

"I win," Val said, leaning over to catch her breath.

They went to buy tickets (Twister again insisted on paying), then headed for the rides.


	5. The Date, pt 2

By the time she and Twister had ridden just about every ride, the temperature had definitely risen. It was now uncomfortably sticky. Val suggested heading to Rocket Beach for a surf session. She changed into a palm-tree tankini and a pair of powder blue boardshorts. The shorts looked exactly like the ones Twister wore, only Val's didn't have white flames on the side. Around her neck was the shark's tooth that had once belonged to Twister.

The beach was fairly deserted; the water warm for December. While waiting for the perfect wave, Val and Twister amused themselves by having a water fight.

"Here comes a wave," Val said suddenly.

"Ladies first," said Twister.

Val paddled hard to catch up with the wave, rising gracefully to her feet. She did a series of kickturns up the face of the wave at an incredible speed. Then up in the air for a sit 360. Twister applauded. Her skills were on par with Otto's, their styles strangely similar.

When the next wave came, Val paddled to the right, Twister went left. They zoomed all over the wave, matching the other's pace.

"Eat my spray!" Val called playfully when she got a few feet ahead of him.

The monster of a wave was beginning to fold. She looked over her shoulder, yelling at Twister to kick out. Val tried to adjust her weight, but her board wobbled beneath her. She steeled herself for impact. The wave knocked her off her feet, slamming her underwater. She soon surfaced, slightly shaken.

"Look!" a male voice said loudly. "It's the amazing performing porpoise twins!"

The voice belonged to a tanned teenager with long brown hair and a missing front tooth, who wore a pair of yellow trunks. Val guessed it might be the Lars she'd heard so much about. She clambered astride her surfboard again. Lars paddled by, looking her up and down.

"This is one fine _chica, _baby bro." he commented. "I'd hang onto her."

Val gave no response to the older Rodriguez sibling's comment, except to start paddling toward shore.

"Catch you later, hot stuff!" Lars yelled.

0-0-0

"Sorry about that," mumbled Twister.

Val shrugged. "Don't be. I've seen worse guys than Lars. Remember, I'm a city girl."

They seated themselves side-by-side at the Shore Shack counter. A sprig of artificial mistletoe was dangling on a red ribbon just over their heads. Twister blushed deep red. Val seemed unperturbed by it.

"Where's my Tito?" screeched a voice.

They turned. A large woman wearing a pineapple-print mumu had entered the restaurant, followed by a short boy dressed in shorts, flip-flops, and a Hawaiian shirt.

"Mommi! Keoni!" bellowed Tito, racing to greet them.

Mommi flung her arms open to hug Tito. As she did so, her heavy suitcase flew backwards, hitting Keoni in the stomach. The impact knocked the wind out of him, causing him to fall on his backside. Val clamped a hand over her mouth, which wasn't very effective at disguising her snickering.  
Tito went into the kitchen to prepare food for the guests. He found Ray muttering angrily that the fryer was broken. Tito sighed, rolling his eyes. Ray had forgotten to turn it on. He flicked the switch; the fryer began to bubble.

"IT'S ALIIIIVE!" Ray screamed happily.

Keoni gingerly got off the floor, seating himself on the other side of Val. Introductions were made. Keoni gazed at Val, a strange expression on his face. Val shifted nervously.

"Why are you staring at me like that?" she asked.

"You got mistletoe in your hair, cuz," Keoni said slowly.

Twister gently untangled Val's hair, freeing the decoration. Ray nearly dropped the tray of hula burgers when he saw Twister running his hand through his niece's hair. He was slightly upset until he heard Twister say, "I think I got all of it out."

"_Muchas gracias._" said Val.

"_De nada_." said Twister.

0-0-0

Later that evening, Twister stood on the Rockets' doorstep, having just walked Val home.

"I had a really good time today," he said.

"Me too," said Val with a small smile. "I don't think I've ever had that much fun with a guy before." She turned to go inside. "See you in the morning, Twister."

"Good night, Val."


	6. Family Feud

A/N: Sorry I keep throwing chapters at you. I wanna get this fic posted before the holidays.

To SilentWhisper: Glad you like the fic. In answer to your questions: 1) I ran out of ideas during some parts. 2) They lost track of time.

0-0-0

Val closed the door, an idiotic grin on her face. Her grin faded as she saw Otto, who was scowling.

"Twister _bes_t have a good excuse for missing hockey practice." he said.

_Uh-oh, _Val thought.

She hadn't intended for this to happen. Well, the truth would come out sometime, better now than never.

She took a deep breath and said, "Twister was with me."

"I can't believe this!" Otto exploded. "Twister _knows _we practice Saturdays and he blows me off for my psycho, half-breed cousin!"

Before Otto knew what was happening, Val had grabbed him by the front of his T-shirt and lifted him into the air until his eyes were on a level with hers. It was scary. Her face had become a hardened mask, her cobalt eyes full of pure venom. Otto swallowed hard, his heart rate almost doubling.

"I'm only going to say this once, so pay careful attention, runt," Val said in a low growl. "You can call me a lot of things, but if I _ever _hear the word 'half-breed' cross your lips again, you will be very sorry indeed."

That said, Val released her grip on her Otto's shirt. He fell to the floor, landing hard on his rear. Val stalked up the stairs, muttering to herself.

Ray heard the thump and came into the living room to investigate.

"What did you do to her, Otto?"

"I didn't do anything!" Otto protested.

"Don't give me that act," said Ray. "You know your cousin would never hurt you unless she was provoked. What did you say to her? Never mind, that's not important. Get upstairs this instant. I don't want to see you again for the rest of tonight."

"Raymundo, you're not being fair!" Otto protested. "She was..."

Ray cut him off. "I don't care. You heard what I said."

0-0-0

Later that night, Otto lay awake, still fuming over the unfairness of it all. His best bro had deserted him (to be with his cousin, no less). Just the thought of Val made him angry. His grudge against her was nothing new. They (or him, at least) had been fighting for years.

It was always the same scenario: Something came up that made them argue. Neither one would back down, so they both got their feelings hurt. The fight would possibly end in a wrestling match. Val, being older and stronger, would often win.

The problem was made worse by the fact that Otto and Reggie's aunt and uncle were gone so often on business trips that Ocean Shores was practically Val's second home.

_I can't wait for her to leave, _he thought as he drifted off to sleep.


	7. Shopping Spree

Val woke up early the next morning, silently cursing herself for not shopping earlier. Today was Christmas Eve. The mall was surely going to be a mob scene. At least she wouldn't be battling the crowds alone. Reggie was going too. She dressed quickly and headed downstairs.  
Otto was already seated at the table, working his way through a large stack of pancakes. Val joined him, hoping she could perhaps end this ridiculous feud.

"Morning, Rocket Boy," she said, keeping her tone neutral.

Otto continued to eat his breakfast as though she wasn't there. Val took a deep breath, trying to keep her temper steady.

"Listen, I know my visits in the past haven't been wonderful--"

"You took the words out of my mouth," Otto said calmly.

"I realize that it's been my fault. You know, I've played too rough, I've called you names....We've never been very close, but I want that to change."

"Did Reggie tell you to say this stuff?" Otto asked suspiciously.

Val ignored the remark. "I know I haven't been an angel, but if you could find it in your heart to forgive me, I'd appreciate it a lot."

Otto thought for a moment, toying with the gold coin around his neck, the one that had belonged to his mom. He felt as though he was connected to her spirit when he wore it. Something was telling him he needed to bury the hatchet.

"I guess we can call a truce," he mumbled.

"Come on, Val!" Ray screamed from outside. "I wanna get going so I can come back and make Christmas Eve dinner!"

"Later." said Val as she stood up from the table.

0-0-0

Val and Reggie manuvered through the crowded walkways of the Ocean Shores Mall, the pair of them giggling like loons. Upon arrival, they had bought some fudge from a group of teenagers, who were selling it to raise money for charity. Before realizing it, they had consumed most of the box. They were feeling light-headed, but definitely giddy.

"This would be _perfect _for Twister!" giggled Val as the girls browsed in a gift boutique. It was a bottle of three-dollar cologne. Reggie, smirking, read the label aloud: "'Really Ripped Abs?' Are you seriously giving him that?"

"This too." Val held a necklace under Reggie's nose. It was a fake gold chain that had a tiny chili pepper dangling from it.

Reggie shook her head. There was no reasoning with her cousin right now. She had a few more strange gifts in her hands: a bag of gummy octopuses and a beanbag Kraken (giant squid) for Sammy, a lobster-claw oven mitt and kitchen towels with dancing hula girls on them for Ray, and a T-shirt that said "Future X-Games Champion" on it for Otto. Though Reggie couldn't see it, Val had a T-shirt for her that said "Angel" on the front in glitter.

"Let's go," Reggie said once Val had paid for the gifts. "I told Raymundo we'd meet him at noon."

"Is it that late already?" said Val.

Reggie nodded, picking up her own bags of assorted loot.

0-0-0

At home, the girls wrapped presents together. Val was still flying high from the fudge; she refused to write out normal gift tags: ex, "To Uncle Ray, Love Val." Instead, she came up with funny nicknames for everyone on her list. Reggie looked the tags over. Some were pretty clever, like Sam's, which read "To a Cali Calamari." A few were normal, like Otto's and Ray's: "Rocket Boy" and "Rippin' Raymundo." Twister's was slightly embarrassing: "To my Latin Lover Boy."

"I'm never giving Val sugar again." Reggie vowed.


	8. Gift Exchange

It was tradition that, on Christmas Eve, Sam and Twister would go to the Rockets' house for dinner. Afterwards, the friends would exchange gifts, sing Christmas carols, and eat cookies. It was also tradition that Ray tried to get them to eat peppermint ice cream. No one but him, Sam, and Twister ever touched the stuff.

"Do I have to wear this stupid thing?" Otto griped.

It was a green elf hat with a jingle bell on the tip. Ray gave him a look as if to say: "Val and Reggie aren't complaining." This wasn't quite true. Deep inside, the girls were humiliated, but they went along with Ray to be nice.

Sam was the first guest to arrive. He deposited his packages on the surfboard coffee table and said hello to everyone. Otto wasn't surprised to see Sam wearing a pair of fake reindeer antlers on his head.  
The doorbell rang again. It was Twister. Tonight, he was wearing his usual green cargo shorts and a white T-shirt under a red tank top. He'd switched his backwards baseball cap for a Santa hat. Several pieces of Scotch tape were stuck to his face. Evidently, he'd run into some trouble while trying to wrap gifts.

"You kids look so festive!" exclaimed Ray. He ran out of the room to get his camera. "Everybody say cheese."

Once the photo was taken, Ray brought out the refreshments, which included homemade milkshakes.

"Wow! Coffee! My favorite!" Val cheered.

Reggie groaned quietly. It had been painful enough the first time she'd witnessed her cousin after too much caffeine. She hadn't wanted to repeat the experience so soon.

"Hey, let's open our presents." said Otto. (Getting presents had always been his favorite part of Christmas). He'd torn open all his presents before the others had a chance to unwrap their first.

Reggie slowly pulled the ribbon off Sam's present. It looked like a jewelry box. She opened it. Inside was a silver chain; its charm was a beautiful glittering snowflake. There was also a note in the box: _"You're allowed to a have a feminine side, Rocket Girl. Merry Christmas. Sammy._"

_How sweet of him, _Reggie thought, smiling.

"'Really Ripped Abs?'" Otto said loudly as he saw Twister's present. "Bust! Oh man."

Val narrowed her eyes; Otto backed off. He knew that look meant he was in danger of incurring her wrath. There was no fury like Lightning Girl, except perhaps an angry Rocket Girl.  
Val resumed opening the present Twister had given her. It was a set of Chipmunk dolls and the Chipmunks Christmas CD. In a small box was a bottle of her favorite perfume, Hawaiian Ginger. She gave him her warmest smile, then ran for the stereo. A minute later, she was blasting the Chipmunks through the whole house. To make her laugh, Twister tried to imitate the Chipmunks' voices, though his own voice cracked on every other note.

When the CD ended, Val still wanted to serenade them. She sang "Feliz Navidad" in perfect Spanish, actually a duet with Twister. She got the rest of the gang to join the singing of "Jingle Bells," "Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer," and "We Wish You a Merry Christmas." There was time for one more song before the guests left. Val decided to make it "O Holy Night."

"_...Fall on your knees  
Oh, hear the angel voices  
Oh, night divine..._"

_To heck with the angels, _Twister found himself thinking. _Your singing is good enough for me, my fair Valencia._

A/N: Isn't that cute? I should have the next chapter ready in a couple days. Please review; I love seeing my readers' opinions. Have a merry Christmas, everyone!


	9. Heading North

A/N: I hope everyone had a nice Christmas. No one's reviewing. -( Oh well, here's the next chapter.

Early on the morning of December 26th, Ray began packing his station wagon. It was an annual tradition to drive the kids up to Mount Baldy for a ski trip on the day after Christmas, returning on New Year's Day.

"Thanks, Rocket Girl," said Ray as he accepted a bungee cord. He strapped the kids' snowboards to the roof rack, then looked around for his son.

"Otto's probably still asleep," said Reggie.

"He shouldn't have stayed up half the night yesterday then," said Ray.

Reggie cupped her hands around her mouth to amplify her voice, aiming in the direction of a second-floor window.

"Val! Can you wake Rocket Boy up?" she yelled.

"No problem!" Val called back. "Hang on a second!"

Her head disappeared from view. Val strode across the floor, accidentally-on purpose tripping over Otto's sleeping bag. (Subtlety had never been one of her strong points). Except she gauged her trip wrong. She fell, landing squarely on top of him. He jolted awake.

"Pinned ya," Val grinned.

"Hey, lemme up," Otto said grumpily, trying to push her away.

Val got off him, crossed to the window, stuck her head out, and yelled, "He'll be right down!"

Smirking in a self-satisfied way, Val pranced downstairs. Otto muttered to himself as he got dressed. Sure, he'd said he forgave Val, but it was easy to forget that when she started dishing out rude wakeup calls.

0-0-0

A short time later, the five kids piled into the station wagon's backseat. Val didn't mind the cramped quarters because she was smushed against Twister. Ray hummed tunes from the _Saturday Night Fever _soundtrack as the group pressed further north. Tito leaned over to turn on the radio. The lilting opening notes of "Hotel California" flowed through the car. Val shrieked as she recognized the tune and began to sing along, so did Ray.

"Someone please shoot me," Otto mumbled.

Twister grinned stupidly. He thought Val sang like an angel. This much was true, but it was a bit hard to hear when one was focused on the grim lyrics of the song. Twister wasn't the only one lost in his own world. Valwas lost in the music, trying to hit each note properly. Twister knew the feeling, though he hadn't had the courage to sing lately because of his cracking voice. He'd even turned down the offer of a solo in the school holiday concert.

Val was starting to feel nervous. She'd been to Mount Baldy several times, but that had been when she was a small girl. She'd never been snowboarding, only ice skating. The name "Mont Baldy" was slightly ominous to her. Reggie had e-mailed her stories of past trips, such as the memorable incident of Twister and Otto getting lost and meeting the "mutant goats." Then, of course, there was the time Otto had broken his leg...Twister's voice broke into her thoughts.

"A supreme surfer like you could be a wicked snowboarder." he said.

"You really think so?" she asked.

"You know I do."

Otto made a gagging face.

0-0-0

A few hours later, the station wagon pulled up to the cabin the Rockets would be occupying for the week. Otto, Reggie, and Twister were all shivering. Coming to the cold of northern California from the heat of Ocean Shores was always a shock to their systems. Sam was used to cold weather, having spent the majority of his life in Kansas.

"Nice digs," Val observed, taking in the mounted moose head and nice furniture of the cabin.

Otto shook his head discreetly.

_Doesn't Val know that **no one** says "digs" anymore? _he wondered.

Ray started to build a fire in the fireplace. Their first meal at Mount Baldy was always pancakes cooked over an open flame. No one was sure how _that _tradition had gotten started, but it stuck. The Rocket siblings exchanged looks. Ray's char-broiled pancakes always took forever to make.

"Raymundo, do we have to make these every trip?" Otto questioned.

"It's our tradition, Rocket Boy," Ray answered.

"Could we make an exception just this once?" asked Reggie. She leaned forward to whisper, "You know how Otto gets when he's hungry."

"I'm well aware of that," said Ray as he dropped a lit match onto the logs. "But this is still a tradition."

Ray sat back to look at the fire blazing in the hearth.

"Won't be long now." he said, rubbing his hands together.

Ray was actually right about this. A little over an hour later, everyone had been given a plate of pancakes. Breakfast was peaceful, save for an occasional squabble amongst the kids over butter or syrup.


	10. Crash Course

"Ready for your first snowboarding lesson?" asked Twister.

Val drained her glass of chocolate milk, wiping her mouth on the back of her hand. "I don't know. Otto would just laugh at me."

Twister shrugged. "We'll make it a private lesson. Don't worry. We won't go to Big Air or anyplace crazy."

Val took her blue jacket off the hook by the door and tucked the snowboard Ray had given her as a Christmas gift under her arm. "Okay, I'm ready."

They walked through the snow until they reached the bunny hills. Twister strapped his snowboard to his feet, saying he'd go first and demonstrate. "It's pretty simple." he said. "Just lean forward and bend your knees to start. Lean back to stop. You steer with your hips, kinda like surfing."

Val nodded. "I think I can do that."

"See you at the bottom," said Twister.

Val leaned forward to follow him. Wind whipped her hair off her face as she gathered speed. She tried to turn but ran smack into Twister. They fell heavily to the ground.

"You okay?" they asked each other simultaneously.

"I don't think I broke anything." said Twister. "But you're kinda sitting on my leg."

"Sorry," said Val, standing up and brushing snow off her jacket.

"That wasn't bad for your first time," said Twister. "I almost ran into a tree when I first tried snowboarding."

"And you ran into an icy rock in New Zealand." Val added.

Twister felt himself blushing. "Well,...that wasn't one of my finer moments."

0-0-0

Val and Twister spent another hour on the slopes. Val seemed to be having a little trouble getting the hang of turning. She tried to show off by riding like a slalom racer, only her slalom gate was usually Twister. More often than not, they both ended up in the snow.

"I'm having _so _much fun," Val said after her third or fourth crash landing.

Twister hoped she'd get tired soon. Falling his full height was painful. Besides, he was freezing. Whenever he landed, he got a lot of snow stuck his sweater, which was now soaked.  
Val unstrapped the bindings of her snowboard and stood up. Then she took off her helmet.

"Ugh. My legs are killing me." she said when she tried to walk.

"How about we take a break and get some hot chocolate?" said Twister.

"Only if I get to make it," she said. "I hate the boxed stuff."

That was more than fine by Twister. If they had hot chocolate at the cabin, he could take a hot bath and change into a dry sweater.

At the cabin, Twister went upstairs to the bathroom; Val went into the kitchen. She pulled milk, cocoa, sugar, and a pot out of the cupboard. She leafed through a book while she waited for the stove to heat up. Five minutes later, Twister appeared, now in a navy-blue sweater. He watched as Val poured the ingredients into the pan.

"How can you make hot chocolate without measuring?" he asked.

"Practice," she replied, stirring the mixture.

She took the pot off the burner and poured the contents into two mugs. They brought the mugs into the living room. Twister took a sip. Val's recipe really _did _taste a lot better than the boxed kind. It was extremely cozy, sitting with a girl he adored, drinking hot cocoa by a roaring fire.


	11. Kiss Me at Midnight

A few days later, it was New Year's Eve. The Rocket Gang gathered in the large ballroom of the lodge to attend a VIP New Year's Eve party. The tickets had been a gift from Val's parents. The event was also formal, so Twister and Sam wore three-piece suits. Twister had taken off his baseball cap, but his hair still stuck up in the front.  
Otto wore only a shirt and tie. He was grumpy because Ray had insisted he take his dreadlocks out for the evening.  
Reggie wore a light-lavender dress; the color nicely matched her hair. She wore Sam's snowflake pendant, which he was flattered about. Val was wearing a sleeveless, ankle-length red dress and a pair of low-heeled shoes. A gold bracelet twinkled at her wrist; her freshly washed hair was delicately curled. She had also spritzed on some Hawaiian Ginger perfume...

"You clean up nice," she said to Twister.

"Val, you look absolutely beautiful," he said slowly.

"Thanks." she grinned. She jabbed her thumb at some vague location over her shoulder. "I'm gonna go mingle."

Twister had to laugh at that. "Mingle?" Why, she'd sounded just like his mother.

"Where'd Sammy go?" asked Otto, trying to loosen his tie.

"I saw him go that way with Reg." Twister replied. "He probably wants to check out the buffet. You know Squid."

Val wandered through the room, in search of the punch bowl. She found none, only a bar. Tentatively, she approached it.

"Yes?" said the bartender.

"Could I get a frappuccino, shaken, not on the rocks?" she said politely.

"Okay, little lady." laughed the bartender.

"This is some party," said a voice behind Val.

"Sure is," she agreed, taking her drink and turning around. Her eyes got as big as saucers. Grinning a few inches above her was the unmistakable face of Michael J. Fox.Val fought an overwhelming urge to giggle; she'd always found him highly attractive.

"Um...hello," Val said in a higher voice than normal.

"Hey. How you doin'?" He stuck out a hand to shake Val's. "Name's Mike."

Val offered her right hand. "I'm Valencia."

"Valencia? That's a pretty name." said Mike. "Say, you look a little like Donnie Lightning."

"Yeah, I get that a lot." said Val, trying to sound offhand. She attempted to keep an edge of bitterness out of her voice when she added, "We're related, first cousins."

A tall purple-haired girl squeezed through the crowd of people, nearly tripping over her dress.Val introduced Mike to Reggie, who didn't seem to recognize him.

"Well," said Mike, rubbing his hands together. "Now that we all know each other, would either of you ladies care for a short dance?"

"Let's kick it," said Val, linking her arm with his.

They walked onto the dance floor, where "The Macarena" was playing at top volume. Val laughed and began to go through the dance steps. The Spanish chanting in the song grew faster; Mike had a hard time keeping up with the song. Out of the corner of her eye, Val saw Twister approaching, looking royally upset.

"Why'd you run off on me?" he asked loudly.

"Sorry, Twister," said Val. "Just let me finish dancing with Mike and I promise I'll dance with you."

A few moments later, the song died with a final scream of "Hey, Macarena!" Val said politely, "I have to go now, Mike, but it was great dancing with you."

"Ah, the pleasure was mine," said Mike with a shrug. "Bye, Valencia."

Val and Twister shuffled away from Mike a short distance. The music had temporarily stopped, but Sam and Reggie were slow-dancing together."Kiss Me At Midnight" by NSYNC began to play. Val looped an arm around Twister's waist and held one of his hands. Twister pulled her close to him.

_Gosh, he smells good, _she thought as they revolved slowly on the spot. Twister leaned in. He and Val kissed softly for a moment, then continued dancing.

* * *

A/N: The end! Did you guys like it? Love it? Hate it? PLEASE let me know! 


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